Monoprice Zero-G Slim 27" IPS Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on August 26, 2013 12:00 AM ESTThe Monoprice Zero-G seems to be clearly aimed at those after a cheap 27” 2560x1440 monitor who don’t care about extras or frills. This market was opened up by Korean imports like the Catleap and now has a number of companies trying to compete with those eBay sellers. Monoprice is entering the fray with the Zero-G, currently available for $391. That's a good price, but what does it get you?
The Zero-G is a bit curious in its results. The out-of-box numbers are really quite bad, and the Brightness control does not function correctly. Outside of a narrow range it simply doesn’t do what it's supposed to do, and adjusting it too much causes a huge loss of contrast ratio as well as even worse gamma. The color accuracy also is very poor out of the box.
Once you calibrate it, the Monoprice puts out a fantastic image. The contrast ratio suffers due to the brightness limitation, but color and grayscale accuracy, as well as gamma, are spot-on. This behavior put the Zero-G into an area that makes it harder to recommend as a good solution for users.
If you need accuracy, you can spend $150-200 more and grab the Dell U2713HM, which is frequently on sale for around $600. You also gain an adjustable stand and multiple inputs instead of just DVI. You could spend the money on calibration gear, but by the time you have an accurate setup (which means software and a spectrometer, not just a colorimeter) you’re well past the price difference between the Monoprice and the Dell.
If you want to go cheap, for almost the same price you can find the Nixeus VUE 27 display for $485. It also has a stand and OSD that are entry-level like the Monoprice, but it has more inputs and better uncalibrated results. If you have a laptop or desktop without DVI output, you’re better off with the Nixeus as the DispayPort input alone will save you from buying a DVI-DL adapter that the Monoprice requires. I’ve seen the Nixeus selling for as little as $400 recently, and at that point the price different is negligible.
If the Monoprice had better out-of-the-box numbers I can see it being a good choice for some people. With its numbers and its lack of non-DVI inputs, that pool of users grows smaller. Factor in the strange rear-mounted controls and the competition it has, and it gets smaller still. Perhaps Monoprice can improve their firmware and get better results but right now the hardware itself doesn’t function as expected. With all the other choices available on the market, it’s hard to recommend the Monoprice Zero-G over another display that can be had for the same price and offers better performance and features.
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steven75 - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
That require long term thinking/planning, which (sadly) many people do not seem capable of. Still, to each their own.mikato - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Yeah that's my thinking... Dell U2412Mgrave00 - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I had a Samsung 305 plus go out twice, second time for good. That was your high end monitor for you. Faulty design but I enjoyed it while it worked. Point is, your largely just paying markup. It's all coming from a few places. Monoprice isn't some high end American brand and neither is Dell. I say this having one good Shimian and one current X-Star I'm going to have to send back for an entire line of dead pixels. Still going to save money in the end and get to 120hz or bust. I have no extra faith in the big names. Marketing.KAlmquist - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Another reason to buy a good monitor is that, unlike most types of computer technology, it won't become obsolete in a few years. Sure, it's possible to get a lemon which dies the moment the warranty expires, but chances are that when you buy a monitor you are buying something that you will be living with for a long time.Gen-An - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Am I the only one who saw "Zero-G" and thought of Minmay's song "Zero-G Love" from Super Dimension Fortress Macross?bji - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Yes. There are thousands of names related to the word "Zero-G", not everyone is going to be familiar with the one you want to name-drop.arcanes - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Nice review and I agree with the conclusion.I honestly don't understand why manufacturers don't calibrate their displays before shipping them. Is it too much to ask for?
Question for the guys here - why do you want a cheap, uncalibrated 120hz 27 ips 2560x1440 display? for gaming? if so, ignoring the lag, show me the recent game you can run at 120fps@2560x1440 on high settings. Lets see, Crysis 3? no. Battlefield 3? no. upcoming direct x 11 games? haha. Maybe call of duty. And even for that you will need at least the 650$ 780gtx video card. So enlight me for your reason please.
max1001 - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Time is money and yes it is too much to ask for a cheap monitor.DanNeely - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Even if it's not generally reachable when gaming 120hz should be beneficial for non-gaming use by making the desktop response smoother.Grimmm - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
From my personal experience going on a year now with a Catleap 2B and a 670, Skyrim, Borderlands 2, BF3 on high (not ultra) to name a few.BF3 ultra benchmark numbers at 1080 are mostly worthless for comparison, not everybody needs 16xFSAA when they'd rather have a higher framerate (that they can actually use)
With Skyrim/BL2, I've had people walk over from the other side of the room when doing a bit of LAN gaming because the combined colors/smooth motion was "unbelievable"
With a great processor to prevent bottlenecks there, you can easily hit 80+FPS ultra (minus object detail, which is just wasteful extra tessellation) in Crysis 3 on a pair of 760s ($250 each)
Hopefully this was enlightening for you :P